(via Important Information About Face Coverings Not Being Communicated)

…The following is information about face coverings that I HAVE NOT seen discussed but which is hidden in the text of many of the policies. I found these in San Francisco’s Public Health Emergency Order:

•  The first deals with children and I suspect many parents may have already been aware of but which I have not heard mentioned in any of the news stories on face coverings:

This Order includes certain exceptions. For instance, this Order does not require that any child aged twelve years or younger wear a Face Covering and recommends that any child aged two years or younger should not wear one because of the risk of suffocation.

•  The other deals with the types of masks some folks are wearing and thinking that they are complying and protecting others when they aren’t:

Note that any mask that incorporates a one-way valve (typically a raised plastic cylinder about the size of a quarter on the front or side of the mask) that is designed to facilitate easy exhaling is not a Face Covering under this Order and is not to be used to comply with this Order’s requirements. Valves of that type permit droplet release from the mask, putting others nearby at risk.

In the top picture included in this diary, the mask on the left is an example of one of these masks with a one-way valve on it. In this case it is an N100 mask. Some N95 masks have valves and some do not, and I have seen other masks for sale and that folks are wearing that also have these valves on them.

I know folks are thinking that everyone knows that folks aren’t supposed to be buying up any surgical or N95 masks because they are needed by healthcare providers, however, many of us in the west have old masks that we had obtained during the wildfires when our air was unbreathable without risk of lung damage. I personally have several N95 masks from the fires which were opened and could not be donated. Some of them have a valve and some do not.

Without reading the healthcare order I never would have known that the masks with the valves were not protecting others from my excretions. These masks are more comfortable to wear as they filter the air coming in but allow your breath an escape hatch without being forced through the mask itself.

These masks are great for the fires since it filters out the small, dangerous particles in the smoke from entering our lungs and allow easier breathing due to the one way valve allowing your exhalations an easy path away from your face. Unfortunately, they are the exact opposite of what is needed for this coronavirus crisis since they allow our unfiltered breath which possibly contains droplets with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in them out into the air around us and can infect others in our vicinity.

Bottom line is that if you have these masks you are not protecting others. You should keep these masks in your closet for the next set of fires or for your next paint job but not be wearing them in this crisis.  …